The Willet is a large shorebird with long legs and a straight bill. In flight, it shows a bold black-and-white wing stripe.
It has long legs and a thick bill longer than its head. In flight, a sharp black-and-white stripe shows across each wing.
It walks across mudflats and probes for crabs, small shellfish, and other prey. When startled, it may call sharply, spread its wings, and run before taking flight.
Eastern birds breed in coastal salt marshes and barrier beaches; western birds breed inland in grasslands and prairies near fresh water. In winter, eastern birds move to Central and South America, while some western birds winter on the East Coast.
The male makes trial scrapes for the female to assess, using his feet and breast. In grass nests the female pulls nearby vegetation over the site and lines it with finer grasses and pebbles.
It lays four eggs, incubated by both parents for 22–29 days. Chicks hatch with open eyes, buff or grey down and the ability to move about. Both parents teach them to feed.
It feeds by day and night, taking prey with its sensitive bill tip and probing sand or mud. It sometimes paddles in shallow water after small fish or crabs.
In breeding plumage, eastern birds tend to have heavier breast barring and back mottling than western birds. Nonbreeding plumage is plainer and grayish brown.
The legs are bluish grey. Eastern juveniles tend to be browner overall, while western juveniles are greyer.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.